[asa] Responding to Atheists, Agnostics & Apatheists

Heya all. I'm a recent subscriber to this list (I've been looking for an
interfaith science-oriented list for awhile - tired of the usual blog
combat), but I've been following the threads for a long time on the ASA
archive site. Either way, this is my first original thread post, so forgive
me if any mistakes are made.

I don't think anyone (especially as science-interested christians) needs to
be brought up to speed about the "New Atheists" or the like, so I'll skip
past the rundown of such and get to the point. I get the feeling often that
christians who talk about or try to spread their faith tend to have fellow
believers primarily in mind (catholic and protestant dialogue, for example),
or lapsed believers (getting the nominally christian to take their faith
more seriously, be more active, etc.) When it comes to atheists, however,
the response tends to be almost purely combatitive - answering objections
from various atheist philosophers, scientists, editorialists, etc.

What I'm hoping to see, however, is a new approach - primarily online. And
to that end, I'd love to hear some list members give their thoughts on the
following questions.

* How would you approach an atheist, agnostic, or apatheist about
christianity? Would the approach differ from how you would approach someone
of another faith, or a lapsed member of your own faith?

* Do you see science, or an understanding of science, as having a role to
play in such a conversation?

* What common misconceptions or misunderstandings do you think exist among
AAAs about Christianity?

* Have you seen any effective targetting of AAAs by any particular person,
ministry, or even faith?

Mind you, I'm talking less about emotionally/politically charged AAAs - more
about passive ones who, for whatever variety of reasons, just hold the views
they do. I have my own views on these things, but I'm hoping others will
chime in with their thoughts before I add my own.

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Received on Tue Oct 28 16:45:31 2008